297. EXCHANGE WRAP | YULETIDE 2022.

[peaked]

My second yuletide is done and dusted! This year, I was really lucky to receive four gifts for two fandoms (three from the main collection and one from Madness, although I consider them all Yuletide gifts!). I have been desperate for Amy/Laurie and I was honestly so thrilled to get stories focused on them (and focused on different aspects of their relationship)!

I ended up writing two case fics because I decided that there was no better way to end the year than with some sort of crime solving. I enjoyed writing both—one was filled with nostalgia and exploring the reasons why someone would steal from a friend and the other was utter ridiculousness that let me have a lot of fun in writing hyperbolic situations that would only happen with superheroes.

There is so much great stuff in both collections. Yuletide is a fic exchange that focuses on rare fandoms, so if there's a fandom out there that you love that hardly gets any fic, check out the collections (past and present) and see if you can find any gems!

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Fandoms I wrote: Enola Holmes and She-Hulk.

Fandoms I received: Little Women (2019) and Ready or Not.

Other fandoms: Abbott Elementary, The Good Place, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Little Red Riding Hood, Only Murders in the Building, Ready or Not, and Spy Game.

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What I wrote:

ENOLA HOLMES (MOVIES)

[FIC] i'll hide underneath my pride for musesfool
enola/tewkesbury | teen; 18,834 words
Enola doubted that when Tewksbury had invited her to his childhood friend’s countryside home for a weekend away that he had planned for her to solve the theft of a very important item. But luckily for everyone in attendance, Enola Holmes was always on the case.

SHE-HULK (TV)

[FIC] hard-boiled eggs for Maidenjedi
jennifer/matt + jessica jones & trish walker | teen; 19,620 words
When Howard the Duck is kidnapped by the Circus of Emirc, Matt enlists Jennifer's help to find him and take the circus down.

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My gifts:

LITTLE WOMEN (2019)

[FIC] zombie (what's in your head) by misura
amy/laurie | not rated; 1,173 words
“I think that deep down inside, you’re a romantic,” Laurie said. “Maybe everyone is. Maybe that’s why so many people are miserable.”
“I think that right now, a lot of people are miserable because there are things out there that are actively trying to kill and eat them,” Amy said. (zombie!apocalypse!AU)

I never knew I needed Amy and Laurie in a zombie apocalypse in my life, but it's here and my life is better for it. It's set in the canonical world; zombies are so subtly and smartly interwoven into the world through the presence of stories, which makes the characters' reactions to this supernatural element believable with their contexts. Perfect character voices. Perfect Amy March. Perfect Laurie. Perfect chemistry and banter. It's just so spectacular. It captured everything I love about Amy and Laurie pre-getting together in the film.

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[FIC] Happy by NewEyes
amy/laurie | teen; 2,144 words
“Anything interesting from the girls?” Aunt March says. They’re in the drawing room of the hotel, and Amy still has the letter from Jo held tightly in her hand. She carefully places it down on the writing desk.
“Oh, not much Aunt March,” Amy says, turning the information over in her mind. Beth is ill…and they’re not sure what to do, and mother has been called. “Beth is sick,” she says.

All I have wanted is to see Amy in the aftermath of hearing about Beth's sickness and how she dealt with her guilt and the complex reason of why she wasn't at home and didn't travel back home to say goodbye to Beth. This captures it. I love how Amy is still so stubbornly strong and determined, but how she's softer, too. Laurie provides great support to Amy and a comforting presence that I feel we really missed out seeing in the movie.

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[FIC] A Gentlemen's Disagreement by misura
laurie + fred (amy/laurie) | gen; 701 words
Laurie warns Fred off from pursuing Amy. It goes great!*

(* Only one of these two sentences is true.)

This is just so great and hilarious. All I wanted from the movie was more jealous Laurie, and this fills that void so freaking well. Laurie's perspective is dramatic and emotional, and I love how he's utterly unhinged in ridiculousness and jealousy. But what I love even more is the characterisation of Fred—he reads as a real person, and as a good friend and man, and this fic showcases that Laurie and Fred are friends. It's a really great glimpse into another relationship in Laurie's life and especially shows someone outside of the Marches rooting for Laurie to go after who he wants. I laughed so much; this is my type of humour.

READY OR NOT

[FIC] The Heart Asks Pleasure First by commanderdameron
grace/daniel | teen; 1,098 words
Grace has barely lit her cigarette before she hears a voice next to her on the steps. “Got any more of those?”
She doesn’t register why he sounds familiar until she looks over and sees him—Daniel, bloody and pallid in a way that should probably freak her out more than it does.

This is set right after the film ends and is such a satisfying conclusion to both Grace and Daniel's joined arcs. I really, really love the character voices in this. Daniel's back and he gives no explanation as to why (which I love; sometimes shit just happens, sometimes people don't communicate—I love the messy, non-simple things and people being people) and Grace is just too traumatised to overthink it. The chemistry is so, so good, and I love the tidbits of worldbuilding that threads the main plot together. What I love most, though, is the ending. Open, hopeful endings are some of my favourites and this one does it exceptionally well.

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Gifts I enjoyed in the collection:

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

[FIC] meet me at the mall by SuburbanSun
janine/gregory | gen; 1,180 words
Janine’s got a secret. And unfortunately, if she wants to keep paying the bills, she has to keep it.

It's perfectly in character. Like, honestly, this is perfectly in character. The talking heads are expertly done and doesn't feel odd in the written format. The character voices are amazing. The plot is so simple and so true to the show. I absolutely adored this fic.

THE GOOD PLACE

[FIC] Aglet You Babe by mtgat
eleanor & michael & janet & jason | gen; 224 words
The team tries to come up with a new theme.

This is a really cute moment between the characters as they brainstorm designing a new neighbourhood. I can see this happening in the final episode. The character voices are spot on, although I do favour the Michael voice as I feel he's a difficult character to get right and he's perfect here.

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

[FIC] If it's no, well, I can go by commanderdameron
bethany/alex | gen; 100 words
Bethany goes home after meeting Alex and cries.

A great exploration of grief and especially loss of chances and time. Considering Jumanji presents two worlds, the real and the game, this was a satisfying missing scene from the first film that captured the complexities of experiencing the game and returning to real life.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

[FIC] Prey preference of Canis lupus, Keith, J., and Jim, K., University of Norway (ABSTRACT) by Isis
gen; 102 words
As submitted to Nature, 2022. Review pending.

This is hilarious. I will say nothing else in fear of spoiling it.

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

[FIC] Putnam Productions Presents: Only Murders Holiday Special by RaelStone
mabel & oliver & charles | gen; 1,625 words
Mabel knew that Oliver was spending this holiday alone. As they all were. Seeing Oliver looking almost deflated at Charles’ rebuke of this latest idea, she knew that this wasn’t about relevance or the thing that had brought them together in the first place.
It was about keeping them together now instead of having to let go of yet something else.

A fantastic introspective piece about the Arconica and our Golden Trio during Christmas. I love how melancholic and contemplative this feels, but how it has a happy ending and shows just how far our three protagonists have come. The voices are magnificently in character. It honestly reads like a transcript of a Christmas episode.

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[FIC] When the Bells All Ring by bookglue
mabel & oliver & charles | teen; 2,068 words
Without a murder to solve, the cultural footprint of "Only Murders in the Building" is fading fast. Oliver has just the solution: throw a New Year's Eve bash. Mabel and Charles would rather not.

This is fantastic and reads just like an episode. Everyone is in character, the voices and banter is spot on, and the chemistry between them all is spectacular.

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[FIC] Making wishes is a sucker’s game, but at least there’s cake by Lenore
mabel & oliver & charles | gen; 3,110 words
Mabel isn’t celebrating her birthday because she stopped doing that when she was 8 years old. Charles and Oliver find a way to be there for her anyway.

I had the pleasure of beta reading this story, but that's not why I'm reccing it. The Mabel voice is spectacular—it's filled with pessimism and her glass half empty view of the world—but it has some great backstory for Mabel and showcases the friendship between Mabel, Charles and Oliver wonderfully.

READY OR NOT

[FIC] something broken about this (but i might be hoping about this) by perfectlystill
grace/daniel | explicit; 3,089 words
He likes her as a person, he means. But Grace remembers the way his eyes would trail after her, the half-jokes he'd make, hitting on her partially to scare her away, and partially for other, more unsavory reasons.

This is so hot. I love that despite Grace growing harder with each iteration of the time loop she experiences, she still maintains her knack for being a romantic. Daniel doesn't lose his bitterness and is the right amounts of snarky and resigned. The character voices are spot on.

SPY GAME

[FIC] This thorn in my side is from the tree I planted by fullmoon02
tom bishop/nathan muir | teen; 1,355 words
Manipulation is a game. Nathan plays it well.

Again, I'm not reccing this because I had the pleasure of beta reading it. Full disclosure: I watched this movie a long time ago, so my memory is fuzzy on a lot of things. But this story is so compelling even without canon familiarity. It has a magnificent grasp on first perspective (it's really, really effective) and a manipulative character to boot! Nathan's voice is so rich and engaging and I couldn't help but be pulled in immediately by his narration. The manipulative tone is wonderful and not heavy-handed—and the subtly of Nathan's character change through his own eyes is incredibly captured. I think this is a piece anyone can read even without familiarity to the canon.

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There are plenty of obscure canons in both Yuletide collections that I'm sure people on my flist (and who wander by this journal) may enjoy: the Main collection and the Madness collection. As always, if you find something you enjoy, please consider leaving kudos and a comment for the creator! (And nothing is ever late—I'm sure they'd enjoy knowing you liked their work several months from when I posted this, too.)